By James A. Kimble
Staff writer
May 05, 2008 09:57 am BRENTWOOD — Sheila LaBarre is beginning what many legal experts believe is an uphill battle by claiming insanity in her murder case. But one of the bigger challenges she will face today is finding an impartial jury with little exposure to her high-profile murder case. "Normally, in a high-profile case with as much exposure as this, you'll find people come in with a lot of preconceived notions ... certainly it's a concern," said Boston lawyer Jeffrey Denner, one of four attorneys representing LaBarre. Since her arrest in 2006, LaBarre's case has been fodder for CNN, crime blogs, and widespread coverage in newspapers and local television. Denner said it could take a week or more before his legal team and prosecutors can find just over a dozen people they agree upon. "I suspect we'll go through a lot of potential jurors before we finally find a jury," Denner said. LaBarre admitted in February she killed two boyfriends, Kenneth Countie, 24, of Wilmington, Mass., and Michael Deloge, 37, of Portsmouth, at her Epping horse farm between 2005 and 2006. She pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to two counts of first-degree murder, leaving her fate in the hands of jurors. Rockingham County Superior Court last saw an insanity trial on a murder charge in 1988, when Hampton police Officer Robert McLaughlin used the defense for the shotgun murder of his neighbor, Robert Cushing Sr. A jury sat through a four-week trial and spent another week deliberating before finding McLaughlin guilty of first-degree murder. Salem lawyer Steven Shadallah, who defended McLaughlin, said it took more than a week to choose a jury, in part because of the amount of media attention the case received. "It took a long time because he was a police officer," Shadallah said. "There were all sorts of factors. It was a high-profile case. The media was swarming all over the story and we had to delve into all of that stuff." Rockingham County Superior Court is drawing upon a pool of 6,000 jurors it uses for its annual jury list, according to Don Goodnow, director of the state Administrative Office of the Courts. The names come from the state Department of Motor Vehicles and local voting registration. Jurors are paid just $20 per day for their services, and mileage if they live outside Brentwood, where the county courthouse is located. Goodnow said employers are not required to pay their employees during their service, but must guarantee their jobs back after the trial. The trial is expected to last at least a month or more, making it one of the longest criminal trials to happen in Rockingham County this year. Goodnow said a state law allows for potential jurors to opt out of jury duty when they can show a financial hardship. Picking a jury can be a somewhat unique process because it's driven by the circumstances of the case. Jurors for the LaBarre case will receive far more scrutiny by prosecutors and defense lawyers than in typical criminal cases. They will also have to fill out questionnaires specific to the circumstances in LaBarre's case. "We will be able to get a feel for them and they will be able to get a feel for us," Denner said. Each side has 14 "strikes," opportunities to reject potential jurors because they see a reason those individuals cannot be impartial. It's not unheard of to find people who seem too willing to serve on a jury, but that doesn't always put them on the outs with either the prosecution or defense. "Jury selection is more an art than a science," said defense lawyer Mark Sisti. "You just can't talk about this stuff in a vacuum." Sisti was the attorney for another high-profile murder suspect 10 years ago. He represented Stratham lawyer Seth Bader, convicted of killing his ex-wife in 1996. Sisti, who exclusively defended murder cases for several years, acknowledged he has seen people eager to sit on a jury for a variety of reasons, but what lawyers mostly consider is whether a juror can help or hurt their side of the argument. The jury in LaBarre's case will be given an exceptional amount of freedom in reaching its verdict because its a trial contesting her mental state. New Hampshire's insanity law allows a jury to consider almost anything in the case — with little instruction from the judge. Only Scotland has a law like it, according to Manchester lawyer Richard McNamara, who has written extensively on the topic. If convicted on two counts of first-degree murder, LaBarre would be sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. An insanity verdict would send her to the state prison's secure psychiatric unit with the prospect of having her case reviewed by a judge every five years. That would give her a shot at some, if not complete, freedom. History has shown jurors are reluctant to buy into insanity claims, making them a rare choice for people facing murder charges. No New Hampshire jury in recent memory has ever agreed with an insanity defense in a murder case. "Part of the problem is that it's like the entrapment defense," Shadallah said. "You're admitting you did it, but saying you were insane at the time. Whenever you admit the act, it makes it extremely difficult. It's different to stand in front of the jury and say, 'I did it.'"
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Photos
Sheila LaBarre Staff photo